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Konosuba 2: A Goddess For This Corrupt Hot Springs Town

More shenanigans in Aqua’s dream town was the order of the day in Konosuba this week, and it’s building up to a grand finale by making the setting a hot springs episode. Because anime doesn’t do enough of those and we can all use more of Kazuma spreading himself naked in the bath looking leery. Because it’s just fantastic how pathetic he makes himself look.

Though of course we go through a funny scene where Aqua positions herself as the confessor in the confession box (how she managed to wheedle her way in there if people later think she’s a failure is something that I don’t really hold a comedy show to but I do wonder about), and while trying to manipulate Kazuma into a humiliation falls for his trap of turning it all back round on her. Which is something I really liked, it’s the sort of things true friends do to each other and shows how close the bond between the group has gotten. Similarly, when Kazuma repeatedly announces he’s going into the bath (to try and get pervy glimpses, and being refreshingly honest about his desires) and the other girls inform him that they know and aren’t interested, it’s clear he was trying for a reaction but just gets disdain. Pretend, friendly disdain, the best kind.

In between all of this friendship bonding is the antics of the townspeople, Aqua does get off a successful confession from one of the townspeople enabling her to get in some great lines about the falsehoods of the Eris cult, because if you just remember the holy words ‘Eris pads her chest’, you will not stray from the path of righteousness, who loves all, lolicons, NEETs, all sorts of depraved anime fans, the whole works. It’s a totally impious parody of religion and it’s all the better for it.

Later, while Kazuma is in the bathtub, he comes across a character who’s also fed up of the town. Necessary but the Axis Cult are so fantastic in their depraved unrealism that this guy seems a bit boring. Thankfully though, we don’t really linger on him and instead go to the next ‘friendship fight’ among the main cast as Megumin and Darkness realise that Kazuma was almost certainly spying on them and just before he gets a pervy glimpse of them, they unleash their attack, without even getting any confirmation that he was there because they just know that is what he’s like. Also brilliant.

The last scene, where the townspeople disbelieve Aqua’s claims to be their god (right before the Devil King’s forces appear out of nowhere) was the one slightly less than perfect bit of the show and if I’m honest I’m only saying that to try and not make this an entire review of gushing over Konosuba yet again. But, although it makes a point about how people rarely see the truth when it’s right in front of them, surely Aqua could put their doubts to rest through trickery and at least some of these gullible idiots would believe that she’s right. I guess I like it better when people aren’t being idiots, even when it is funny idiocy.

Finally, Megumin has been through far too much. I hope the next episode (and Aqua willing, the next season), is kinder to her.